Ethics Forum

Special Event on Data in Anthropological Research at 2018 Annual Meeting

Organized by Dena Plemmons and Rob Albro

(5-0960)– Saturday, 4-6pm

Join us to enliven serious conversations in a fun way within and across the discipline of anthropology about our relationships to data, diverse sorts of data, how these data are encountered and circulate, and the ethical dimensions of all of this!

Our Scavenger Hunt includes five distinct categories in which to scavenge “data”. We anticipate that the challenges of data collection for each category will be different in illuminating ways. You’re free to “choose” your own data for each category, so long as they fit the designated criteria, which are:

1) The material (or empirical): provide material artifact that is significant to the culture in which you’re working/to which you belong.

2) The non-material: something non- material that is significant to the culture in which you’re working/to which you belong (e.g. a story, myth, or symbol).

3) Archival: a type of archival data which documents something otherwise contested in the culture in which you are working/to which you belong.

4) Event analysis/performance/social drama/epitomizing moment: an example of a meaningful event, explain why it is indeed an event, and what makes it significant. This needs to be drawn from the AAA meeting itself.

5) Bricolage: an example of data generated in order to address a topic or answer a question about the culture in which you are working/to which you belong. This can mix data sources but also needs to be drawn from the AAA meeting itself.

6) Wild card: collecting data about the culture in which you are working/to which you belong that might not otherwise be covered by the first five categories. You must explain why this is the case.

The hunt will conclude with a sponsored reception on Saturday, November 17th, 4-6pm, during which the winner will be announced and different stories, and challenges, of data collection discussed and explored.